Method of making electric-lamp glowers.



PATENTED AUG. 11, 1903.

M. W. HANKS.

METHOD OF MAKING ELECTRIC LAMP GLOWERS.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 18, 1901.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented August 11, 1903.

PATENT OEEIcE.

MARSHALL W. HANKS, OE PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T0 GEORGEWESTINGHOUSE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD OF MAKING ELECTRIC-LAMP GLOWERS.

'SPEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 785,760, dated August11, 1903.

Application filed May 18,1901. Serial No. 60.910. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, IVIARSHALL W. HANKS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and use ful Improvement in Methods ofMaking Electric-Lamp Glowers, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to methods of making glowers for electric lamps ofthe type in which the glowers are non conductors when cold and becomeconductors when. heated to a comparatively high temperature.

The object of my invention is to provide an improvement in the art whichwill cheapen the cost of production of glowers and render it feasible toeasily and expeditiouslymake any number of glowers of any given lengthin order to adapt them to a given voltage.

It has been the usual practice in the manufacture of glowers to form arod or string of suitable length and of the desired'diameter,

then out such rod or string into suitable sections or lengths, then fuseeach end of each of the blanks by means of an electric arc to form abead, and finally attach terminal wires to the beads byembedding theends of the wires in the beads or otherwise. It is of course essentialthat all glowers intended for use'in connection with a given voltageshould be of substantially the same diameter and the same length.- Ithas been the practice, therefore, after having formed a bead upon oneend of the glower to hold the other end in the are by means of suitabletweezers and to remove the 7 glower from the are for the purpose ofmeasuring it. Itwill be readily understood that several removals of theglower from the arc may occur before the desired length has beenreached.

In order to avoid the loss of time incident to the operation abovespecified and at the same time to insure an exact uniformity in thelength of the glowers, I have devised a method which will now bedescribed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which areshown in side elevation devices which are suitable for practicing myinvention.

In the drawing, 1 and 2 are carbon rods or pencils which are included inan electric circuit and between the adjacent ends of which is formed theare which is utilized in my process. The outer ends of the carbon rods 1and 2 are seated in socket-pieces 3, that are rotatably mounted in heads4, having gear-wheels 5, 6, and 7, that receive motion from a rod orshaft 8, on which the gear-wheel 5 has a sliding non-rotatable fit. Therod or shaft 8 is provided at one end with a handle 9, and the hubs ofthe wheels 6 are mounted upon screwrods 10, the inner ends of which aresupported by stationary heads 11, which also support the inner ends ofthe carbon rods 1 and 2.

All of the parts thus far described are supported by a frame 12, that ispivoted at 13 to a standard 14, so as to permit the operator to raiseandlower the are by means of the handle 9. The standard 11 is so mounted ona baseplate 15 as to be turned on a vertical axis by means of the handle9 to elifect any desired lateral adjustment of the arc.

Suitably mounted so as to rotate with or upon a shaft 16 is a table 17,having a suitable number of notches or slots 18, the width of each slotbeing slightly less than the diameter of the bead 19 on the end of aglower 20, so that a glowcr may be inserted in each slot and besuspended by means of a previously-formed bead on one endfrom the upperside of the table. The shaft 16 may be inclined to the vertical, asindicated, so that if all of the notches 18 are provided with glowersthose on the side opposite the arc will not engage with the carbon asthe table is 1'0- tated. A suitable device 1G may be employed foradjusting the height of the table in accordance with the length ofglower that is desired. The table will obviously be located at adefinite height for any given length of glower, and so the lower end ofthe blank will project substantially into the middle of the are.

At a suitable distance from the arc is located a fixed screen. 21, onwhich is placed a horizontal line 22, and at a suitable point betweenthe screen and the are is placed a magnifying-lens 23, the lens beingplaced in such position as to project upon the screen a magnified imageof the are and the lower end of the glower. Since the employment of asingle lens will serve to project a reversed image upon the screen, theline 22 will be cated at the height corresponding to the length ofglower desired. Since the projected image is several times the size ofthe object, the length may be very accurately measured.

In the use of my method glower-blanks, which have been formed in theusual manner, each with a bead at one end, are placed in the slots 18 inthe wheel 17, so that the previously-formed beads rest upon the upperedges of the slots. The frame 12 will then be so adj usted bothvertically and horizontally, as to properly locate the arc withreference to the lower end of the glower-blank at the inner side of thetable. Any desired adjustment of the carbon rods with reference to eachother may also be effected by rotating the handle 9. It will be seen,therefore, that the operator has complete control of the position of theare. Inasmuch as the gage-line 22 and the table -slot 18, which islocated above the are, have a definite fixed relation to each other asregards elevation, a given length of glower may always be secured bygiving the table a small rotative movement as soon as the inner side ofthe bead coincides with the gage-line. The glowers may be thussuccessively moved into position for treatment and as the table isrotated the completed glowers may be removed and their places filled byblanks, thus making the operation substantially continuous.

WVhile I have illustrated and described my invention as utilized inconnection with the treatment of only the lower ends of glowers,

I desire it to be understood that I do not thereby exclude from itsscope the treatment of both ends of glowers, eithersimultaneously orsuccessively.

My invention is obviously not limited to the use of specific apparatus,since any means whereby the blowers may be brought into and held in adefinite position in the arc and an enlarged image of the same projectedupon a screen having a gage-line will be suitable for practicing theinvention.

I claim as my invention 1. The improvement in the art of makingelectric-lamp glowers which consists in subjecting one end of a glowerto the action of an electric are, simultaneously projecting a magnifiedimage of said glower end upon a gage-screen, and removing the glowerfrom the are when the image indicates completion of the treatment.

' 2. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in fusing a glower end to form a bead, simultaneouslyprojecting a magnified image of said glower end upon a surface having agage-line, and I removing the glower from the are when the image showscompletion of the. treatment.

3. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in supporting a glower in a certain definite position with oneend in an electric arc, simultaneously projecting a magnified image ofsaid glower end upon a surface having a gageline and removing the glowerfrom the are when the image indicates completion of the treatment.

4. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in suspending a partially-formed glower in a certain definiteposition with reference to a distant gage, simultaneously subjectingthefree end of the glower to an electric arc and projecting a magnifiedimage of said glower end upon the gage, and removing the glower y fromthe are when the image indicates completion of the treatment.

5. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in subjecting the lower end of a glower, that is suspended fromits upper end, to an electric are, simultaneously projecting a magnifiedimage of said lower end upon a surface having a gage-line and removingthe glower from the are when the image indicates completion of thetreatment.

6. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in subjecting a glower to the action of an electric arc to varyits length, simultaneously projecting a magnified image of the are andglower upon a surface having a gage-line and removing the glower fromthe are when the image indicates that the desired length has beenattained.

7. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in subjecting a glower to an adjustable electric arc to varyits length, simultaneously projecting a magnified image of the arc andglower upon a surface having a gage-line and removing the glower fromthe are when the image indicates that the glower is of the desiredlength.

8. The improvement in the art of making electric-lamp glowers whichconsists in supporting a glower in a definite position with reference toa gage, subjecting one end of the glower to the action of amovableelectric are, simultaneously projecting a magnified image of saidglower end upon said gage, and removing the glower from the are when theimage i11- dicates that the treatment is completed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 15th day ofMay, 1901.

' MARSHALL W. I'IANKS.

Witnesses:

JAMES B. YOUNG, BIRNEY HINEs.

